A man has appeared in court accused of threatening to kill his partner less than 13 hours after he was freed on police bail for assaulting her.

Newtownards Magistrates Court heard that Scott McHugh (30) had been questioned by PSNI officers over allegations that he broke his partner's jaw and cheekbone on December 15 before being freed on police bail at 4am on December 17.

However, an officer alleged that "less than 13 hours later", McHugh phoned the complainant and threatened to kill her.

The officer said that just before 5.30pm that day, the injured party contacted police to say that she had received a threatening phone call from the defendant.

He is alleged to have said that: "You went to the f****** police didn't you", called her a "rat and a junkie" and said that "the next person to get you will f****** murder you", the officer told the court.

Testifying that she believed she could connect McHugh to the offences, the officer told the court the call was heard by the woman's parents as the phone was on speaker phone.

McHugh, from Chapel Hill Mews in Lisburn, spoke only to confirm that he understood the charges of witness intimidation, making a threat to kill and improper use of a telecommunication network to cause anxiety on December 17.

He is further charged with inflicting GBH with intent on December 15.

The police officer said she was objecting to bail amid fears that McHugh would commit further offences, given that the phone call allegedly came shortly after he was freed on police bail for what she described as a "violent and sustained attack".

McHugh's defence solicitor told the court he denied all charges and submitted that the phone call "appears to be something of a rant". He contended that as the alleged victim lives in Bangor, a town McHugh "has no reason to be in", he could be kept separate from her so "robust bail conditions could assuage the courts concerns".

However, bail was refused and McHugh was remanded into custody to appear again on January 12.